Think Jack the Ripper was bad? These gruesome Victorian murders slipped through the cracks of history — but they’re even more twisted, shocking, and stomach-churning than anything from Whitechapel…
When it comes to Victorian murder, Jack the Ripper casts a long, bloody shadow. But while the Whitechapel killer stole the headlines, he was far from the only villain stalking the gas-lit streets of 19th-century England.
The Victorian era was drenched in blood-soaked scandals, domestic horrors, and murders so grotesque they shocked even hardened Londoners. Bodies boiled, babies strangled, lovers hacked to pieces, and innocent lives thrown away with terrifying ease.
So if you thought Jack was the worst the era had to offer – think again. Here are ten gruesome Victorian murders that will turn your stomach, twist your imagination, and remind you that death was always lurking behind the lace curtains of Victorian life.
10 Grisly Victorian Murders
1. The London Burkers – Bishop & Williams (1831)
Before the Anatomy Act of 1832, body-snatching for dissection was rife. In a horrific twist, two men, John Bishop and Thomas Williams, decided to skip the grave-robbing and murder people outright to sell their corpses to medical schools. Their preferred method was drugging victims and drowning them. Their crimes came to light after they tried to sell the unusually fresh body of a teenage boy. Public outrage led to their hanging and significant reforms in medical legislation.
Read more about the London Burkers on Spooky Isles
2. The Ratcliff Highway Murders (1811)
Technically pre-Victorian, but often cited in Victorian discussions of horror, the Ratcliff Highway Murders involved two brutal massacres within 12 days. The first saw the entire Marr family, including a baby, bludgeoned to death in their shop. A second attack killed a publican and his household in a similar fashion. The suspected murderer, John Williams, hanged himself in jail before trial. His corpse was paraded through the East End and buried with a stake through the heart.
Read more about the Ratcliff Highway Murders on Spooky Isles
3. The Bermondsey Horror – Frederick and Maria Manning (1849)
This sensational crime involved a middle-class couple who lured Maria’s ex-lover, Patrick O’Connor, to dinner and then shot him in the head. They buried his body under the kitchen floor, but suspicious neighbours alerted police. When discovered, the body was decomposing, and the stench gave them away. Both fled but were captured. Their execution at Horsemonger Lane Gaol attracted Charles Dickens, who was horrified at the crowd’s bloodlust. It was one of the last public double hangings in England.
4. The Red Barn Murder – William Corder (1827)
In one of the most notorious rural murders of the 19th century, William Corder murdered his lover, Maria Marten, and buried her in the floor of a barn. They had planned to elope, but he shot and buried her instead. Her body was discovered after her stepmother claimed to have dreams revealing the location. The public was captivated. Corder was hanged, and parts of his body were displayed in a grisly exhibition. His scalp and death mask were preserved.
Read more on about Maria Marten and the Red Barn Murder on Spooky Isles
5. The Richmond Murder – Kate Webster (1879)
Kate Webster, a servant with a criminal past, murdered her employer, Julia Martha Thomas, in Richmond. She strangled her, dismembered the body, and boiled the remains, allegedly disposing of them in the Thames and around the property. The skull was only discovered in 2010 in Sir David Attenborough’s garden. Webster impersonated the dead woman, wearing her clothes and trying to sell her belongings. Her trial drew widespread attention, and she was hanged after a confession that horrified even seasoned reporters.
Read more about Kate Webster and the Richmond Murder on Spooky Isles
6. Mary Eleanor Pearcey – The Hampstead Tragedy (1890)
Mary Pearcey murdered her lover’s wife, Phoebe Hogg, and their child in a grotesquely violent attack. She invited them to tea and then bludgeoned Phoebe and smothered the baby. The bodies were later found in a Hampstead street, covered in blood and dumped in a pram. Her flat was a bloodbath. Pearcey denied the killings, but the evidence was overwhelming. Her hanging in 1890 was widely reported. Some believe she may have had similar methods to the Ripper, fuelling speculation.
Read more about Mary Pearcy on Spooky Isles
7. Amelia Dyer – The Baby Farmer (1890s)
Amelia Dyer was a “baby farmer” who advertised to care for unwanted infants—for a fee. In reality, she murdered them, often by strangulation with white tape. Over decades, she may have killed hundreds of babies. When police dredged the Thames and found infant bodies wrapped in brown paper, she was finally caught. Her coldness in court shocked the nation. She was executed in 1896, and her case prompted reforms in adoption and child welfare laws.
8. The Pimlico Mystery – Adelaide Bartlett (1886)
Adelaide Bartlett was accused of murdering her husband, Edwin, who died with a fatal dose of chloroform in his stomach. The bizarre detail? There were no burn marks in his throat, leading experts to question how it was ingested. Adelaide had a suspiciously close relationship with a Methodist minister, adding scandal to the trial. She was acquitted, but the mystery remains. No one could explain how she administered the poison without detection, making it a perfect crime in theory.
9. The Gruesome Death of Robert Wilfred Skeffington Lutwidge (1873)
Robert Lutwidge, uncle of Lewis Carroll and a Commissioner in Lunacy, was visiting Fisherton House Asylum when he was fatally attacked by an inmate. The man beat him around the head with a wooden chair leg, causing fatal injuries. His death raised alarm about the risks faced by asylum visitors and exposed the flaws in the mental health care system of the time. It added a grim shadow over Carroll’s life and spurred debates on institutional reform.
Read more about Robert Wilfred Skeffington Lutwidge on Spooky Isles
10. The Thames Torso Murders (1887–1889)
While Jack the Ripper dominated headlines, another, arguably more gruesome killer was active. Dismembered female torsos were found floating in the Thames or stashed in police yards and railway arches. At least four victims were confirmed, though the killer was never caught. The brutality—removing heads and limbs—and the secrecy surrounding the investigations led to conspiracy theories. Some think these were the work of the Ripper himself. The “Torso Killer” remains one of Victorian England’s most chilling unsolved cases.
Read more on about the Thames Torso Murders on Spooky Isles
From boiling bodies to baby farming, these cases prove that Victorian murder was as gruesome and complex as anything from modern times. While Jack the Ripper gets all the headlines, the horrors listed above show that the darkness of the 19th century ran far deeper — and claimed far more victims.
Is there a grisly Victorian murder you think deserves a place on this list? Share it with us in the comments!
